Rhonda Abrams: What do you want to achieve in 2013?

The beginning of January is the traditional time for making resolutions for the coming year, and it's a perfect time to think about the goals for your business in the next 12 months.

The process of making new year's resolutions may seem silly, especially for small businesses, but I'm a big believer in the process.

Thinking about what you want to achieve and giving those goals priority helps you succeed.

A year ago in January, we declared 2012 to be the "year of the cloud" for my company. Clearly stating our intention to move away from on-premise software to Internet-based services really helped us focus on that goal.

I'm happy to say we were pretty successful. We moved our mail, our server, our accounting, and data sharing all to cloud-based services in last year.

So it's a good time to think about your aspirations. You may get inspiration from a few of the New Year's resolutions of some of your fellow entrepreneurs:

"Focus and focus and focus." That's the 2013 goal of Ranjan Pandey of MSNZ Ltd., a digital surveillance and point-of-sale company in Wellington, New Zealand.

It's one of the best resolutions a small business can make. Many entrepreneurs have so many good ideas that they get distracted from their most important tasks. Stay focused!

^-- "No more busy work." Gene Muchanski, executive director of the Dive Industry Association in Melbourne, Fla., wants to make sure he makes the best use of his time, and I'm guessing you do, too.

His advice: Avoid doing things that aren't important and just do "things that help achieve the planned outcomes."

How much time do you waste each day?

Serve non-English speaking customers. Michelle Chandler of M.A.N.S and Associates, a mediation and arbitration service in Aurora, Colo., wants to reach more customers by getting a translator.

I share this resolution.

Although my books are translated into more than 30 languages for international markets, for the U.S. market, they're only in English. My resolution this year: I'm getting at least one of my books translated into Spanish for the American market.

"Take Web security seriously." That's one of the top things Matthew Jenusaitis tells business owners to put on the top of their 2013 list.

Jenusaitis, chief executive of OCTANe, works with startup and growing technology companies in Orange County, Calif. OCTANe helped startup companies raise more than $50 million in 2012.

"If you're a small company, make sure you subscribe to a Web security service," he says.

"Bigger companies can take advantage of some of the services that large consulting companies have."

Innovate. One thing's for sure: In 2013, you can't just do the same old things you've always done. You've got to keep learning, improving.

"The speed of innovation is incredibly fast, and companies get behind really quickly," Jenusaitis says. So, one of your resolutions better be to expand your knowledge and skill set and find ways to make sure your company stays up with the competition.

Get financing. Sheila Hall-Blagg of Parma, Ohio hopes to make her new social networking site for men and women who have divorced, Divorce2Dating, the next big thing, but she needs money to grow her business.

She's not alone. Whether a startup or an existing company, growth takes cash.

Fortunately, 2013 should be a somewhat better year for small companies looking to raise money.

Credit should be easier from banks, private investors are feeling more confident about startups, and new crowdfunding options will launch this year.

Finally, if you're not yet in business but hope to launch your own venture someday, "Just do it," Jenusaitis says.

"2013 is a great year to start your venture," he says.

"Right now there's a tremendous amount of energy around helping entrepreneurs start new business. Take advantage of all the resources available. â?¬»Make the entrepreneurial leap."

Rhonda Abrams is president of The Planning Shop and publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her most recent book is " Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach." Register for Rhonda's free newsletter at PlanningShop.com. Twitter: @RhondaAbrams. Facebook: facebook.com/RhondaAbramsSmallBusiness.

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Rhonda Abrams: What do you want to achieve in 2013?

What do you want to achieve in 2013 for your small business?The beginning of January is the traditional time for making resolutions for the coming year, and it's a perfect time to think about the